Truck Accident Lawyers Obtain Over $2 Million for Victim
Attorneys Fred Pritzker and Elliot Olsen have recovered $2,750,000 for a 59 year-old truck driver who suffered a traumatic brain injury, lost his left eye and suffered facial disfigurement in a truck accident.
The semi truck tractor trailer was being pulled out of a ditch when the tow chain broke from the front end loader to which it was attached.
$32 Million Verdict in Cooper Tire Product Liability Lawsuit
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. has been found liable for a minivan rollover caused by a defective tire the company manufactured, according to news reports on the ruling of a Des Moines, Iowa court. In 2007, Assata Karlar, 28, was killed in an accident that also left Ivon Toe, 39, paralyzed. Karlar’s husband, children and estate were awarded $420,000; $1 million; and $649,000 respectively. Toe is to receive $28.4 million and the company must pay another $1.5 million in punitive damages.
Attorneys Use Animation to Win Truck Accident Settlement
Experienced semi truck accident attorneys Eric Hageman and Fred Pritzker recently obtained a multimillion-dollar truck accident settlement for a couple whose car was struck by a semi truck while driving home from a family reunion in the summer of 2007.
Both husband and wife were seriously hurt in the accident and he suffered a traumatic brain injury that left lasting, life-changing effects for both of them.
Pharmacy Malpractice Case Involving Wrong Dose Highlights Need for Regulation
By Attorney Fred Pritzker
I recently settled a wrongful death case involving a compounding pharmacy. An elderly woman died a horrible death within twenty-fours after ingesting a medication produced by a compounding pharmacy that was eight to ten times stronger than was prescribed by her doctor and labeled on the medication vial. The overly-strong medication was the result of a simple weighing and labeling error by the compounding pharmacy that would have easily been prevented/detected if rudimentary quality control measures were followed.
Hennepin County Jury Awards Winning Verdict In Car Accident Trial
In a recent Hennepin County District Court jury trial, Pritzker Olsen attorney Brendan Flaherty won a $101,040.62 verdict on behalf of a woman injured in a rear-end car collision.
The collision caused a so-called “whiplash” or “soft tissue” injury: damage to the muscles and connective tissue surrounding the spine. Because the collision did not impact the client’s spine itself, her X-rays and MRIs appeared normal — a fact Farmers Insurance repeated again and again through negotiations and trial.
The client suffered neck and back pain triggered by a range of daily activities, including her job as a real estate agent. She sought treatment with a neurologist and physical therapist but her pain responded best to chiropractic care and massage therapy.
Before trial, Farmers offered to settle the case for $11,500, an amount only slightly greater than the client’s unpaid medical bills. In response, the client offered to accept $40,000. Farmers rejected this outright, refused to continue negotiations and left the client no choice but to go to trial.
“Farmers basically rejected the very notion that an injury to connective tissue could be permanent,” Brendan explained. “They hired a doctor to say that my client was perfectly fine after about 12 weeks of treatment, that chiropractic care was useless, that my client was probably lying about her injuries for money and, even more insulting, that her pain, if any, was caused by her weight rather than the collision.”
Inside the courtroom of Judge Marilyn Rosenbaum, Brendan used detailed medical illustrations and expert testimony to show the jury how his client was injured. “The illustrations in cases like this are crucial because they allow the jury to visualize the injury and understand that these injuries are real even though they are invisible on an MRI.”
Brendan also emphasized the fundamental unfairness of Farmer’s position by hammering on the fact that they hired a doctor three years after the collision to second guess the real-time decisions made by his client’s treating doctors. “Farmer’s in essence blamed my client for following her doctors’ orders,” Brendan said.
After nearly seven hours of deliberation, the jury of two women and five men sided decisively with Brendan and his client.
The trial was also a tactical success. Well before trial, Brendan used the new Minnesota Rule 68 to formally offer to settle for $40,000. Because the verdict exceeded $40,000, Farmers not only had to pay the amount of the verdict plus the $12,000 incurred as costs at trial, but also a penalty of an additional $9,969.48. “This case shows how important it is for all plaintiffs in Minnesota to use the new Rule 68,” Brendan said. “It provides great leverage when insurance companies refuse to pay fair value on a case.”
